Death & Company Interlude One: Glad You Came
by Ceiphied Knight
Summary: Drake deals with one of the consequences of changing time to save someone he had once loved. Our hero even learns a little humility and appreciation along the way. Companion piece to the "Death and Company" series. COMPLETE


**Death & Company Interlude One: Glad You Came**

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><p><em>"The sun goes down<em>

_The stars come out_

_And all that counts_

_Is here and now_

_My universe will never be the same_

_I'm glad you came…"_

-The Wanted, _Glad You Came_

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><p>Drake held the ivory invitation in a shaking hand. It was embossed in gold and proclaimed the one thing that he had both hoped for and feared.<p>

Mr. Ray QuackIntyre and Mrs. Jean QuackIntyre were proud to cordially invite him to the wedding of their daughter, Corrine. She would wed one Fenton Crackshell in just two short months.

Drake's mind was flooded with memories that only he would ever recall, leaving him feeling lost and alone.

Meeting Corrine's dad. He was a scary old man.

Facing him again, this time as Darkwing Duck, to break the news that his daughter had been killed.

Drake would never be able to forget the pain on the older duck's face.

The crime fighter forcibly shook his head, as if to shake all of the unpleasant memories away.

None of that mattered anymore, because Ray QuackIntyre had never lost his daughter in some unspeakable accident, the way he had once lost his son. And now he would be able to walk his only daughter down the aisle.

Drake was pulled from his reverie by Launchpad bounding happily down the stairs.

"Hey, D.W.!" called out his sidekick and best friend, "did you get an invitation to Fenton's wedding, too? Isn't it great? He asked if we would both be ushers!"

Drake looked down at the invitation again, and realized that he was crushing it in his grip. He loosened his fingers.

"You have fun with that, L.P.," he finally managed to answer his friend. "I won't be going."

Launchpad looked appalled.

"But, D.W.! Fenton wanted you to usher his side, while I do Corrine's side! It would be perfect!" Launchpad lowered his voice and added, more gently, "He thinks the world of you, Drake."

Drake ground his teeth and tried to be rational.

"I don't know why," he finally said. "He's only stayed here a few times, and he's been a pain in the ass every single time. I can't shake that guy any more than I can shake Gizmoduck."

Launchpad was quiet, wondering where Drake was going with that comparison, but his friend didn't continue.

"What are you so upset about?" Launchpad asked, trying another avenue. His friend acted weird pretty regularly, but it seemed out of character to be so upset about a wedding.

With a sigh, Drake dropped the invitation and let it flutter onto the coffee table. "Nothing, L.P. Nothing at all."

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><p>Of course Launchpad had coerced him into going.<p>

A pretty duckling, probably not much younger than Gosalyn, was the flower girl. Drake knew that her name was Webbigail Vanderquack, but he wasn't supposed to recognize her, so he kept his beak shut.

He felt awkward and stupid, taking ladies by the arm and escorting them to the groom's side of the Church. Drake also felt uncomfortable in the black suit he wore, because it felt like funeral clothes. He had been to enough of those in his life. But, also, he wondered how few friends Fenton must actually have if he counted Drake among the best of them. Darkwing Duck had always worked alone, give or take a couple of people who had broken past his guarded exterior. But had Fenton ever really had anyone? His dad was gone, that much Drake knew from his experiences in the other timeline. His Gizmoduck identity was a well-guarded secret. It must have been hard for him to find companionship.

In that moment of realization, Drake was even more satisfied that he had done what he had to do. Not just for Corrine, but also for Fenton. Drake had never appreciated what was right in front of his face until Corrine had _made _him appreciate it, and that was the greatest lesson of all. He had always had a support system. Fenton hadn't. All he had was Scrooge McDuck and a neglectful mother. Drake had so much more, even when he didn't realize it.

He would explain it all to Morgana, one day. Of that much he was certain. When he was ready. She was the one he had always taken for granted the most, and she deserved to know everything that had happened.

But, in the meantime, the last guests had been seated and Drake took his seat near the front with Launchpad and Gosalyn. He had even been able to convince his daughter to put on a dress for the occasion.

Fenton was already standing at the front, with his Best Man.

Scrooge McDuck himself stood next to the accountant, in the place of highest honor. There were no other groomsmen.

Webby had thrown rose petals around and taken her seat, and a female duck who Drake did not recognize followed her and took her place across from Fenton and Scrooge. Drake assumed the woman was an old friend of Corrine's. Strange that she'd never mentioned any specific friends back in Duckburg…

Drake shook his head again. Eventually, he'd learn to stop that train of thought right in its tracks.

Finally, the Wedding March began to play. Everyone stood and turned. Except for Drake. He stood, out of respect, but he did not turn to look at her. Not yet.

When he finally turned, however, his breath caught in his throat.

Her dress was so light pink that it shimmered almost ivory as the skirts rustled. Her long black hair was curled and half flowed down her back, while the other half was piled on top of her head. A three tiered ivory veil hung nearly to the floor.

Drake had never seen anything like it. Now Fenton's ivory tuxedo with the light pink vest made more sense.

No one could take their eyes off the blushing bride. Her eyes were downturned as she was led on her father's arm.

Once they reached the alter, Ray QuackIntyre kissed his daughter on the cheek, then placed her hand in Fenton's.

Drake felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, yet at the same time his heart tightened as he watched the vows. He didn't hear the words, but he knew they had finally reached the end when the couple kissed.

Everyone in attendance clapped and cheered. Drake clapped his hands together softly.

_This is how it should be._

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><p>The reception was masquerade themed. Everyone picked a mask as they entered the beautifully decorated hall.<p>

Drake grinned at the irony. Of course, Fenton must have had a hand in the idea of wearing masks.

Drake subconsciously picked a purple mask from the pile and placed it over his eyes. The bride and groom had formed a receiving line, which Drake skipped.

Music began to play almost immediately, and Drake flopped down at the table he was sharing with Launchpad and Gosalyn. There was a fourth setting, but it remained empty. The place card stated "Richard."

Drake's heart leapt into his throat. Corrine had left an empty seat for her late brother.

He shouldn't know that, though. His heart shouldn't hurt the way it did.

The mallard turned his eyes away from the empty seat and focused back on the bride and groom. They had launched into their first dance.

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><p>Drake had been ready to go for hours, but Gosalyn was actually having fun with Scrooge McDuck's great-nephews and he didn't have the heart to interrupt, since it was so rare for Gosalyn to find other kids that could keep up with her. Besides, he remembered how much she had regretted not being able to get to know them better back during their adventure in Duckburg during the other timeline, because she had been too busy being Quiverwing.<p>

Looking around, Drake noticed that Fenton was in a corner deep in conversation with a lanky goose who Drake knew was Gyro Gearloose, the inventor of the Gizmosuit. He heard the accountant say something about counting exactly 2,502 beads on Corrine's dress.

Drake shook his head and finally cracked a smile.

Scanning the room again, he saw Corrine about to finish a dance with Scrooge, who was whispering something very close to her ear. Whatever it was, Corrine laughed.

Scrooge bowed to the bride and walked away to go speak with Fenton's mother, and that's when Drake steeled himself and did something that he would probably regret.

Stepping up to the bride just as a slow song began playing, Drake held out a hand and whispered, "may I have this dance?"

Corrine smiled, politely, and took his hand. When they touched, her eyebrows knit together for a moment as if something had confused her. But then her expression was impassive again as she and Drake began to waltz.

"May I ask who I'm dancing with?" Corrine asked, smiling. "It's hard for me to tell who some people are because of the masks, but Fenton thought it would be fun."

Drake smiled and said, "Drake Mallard. We met once, just as you were leaving St. Canard."

Corrine's smile grew even wider. "That's right, Launchpad's friend! And Fenton's, too. Thank you for being an usher. Fenton doesn't have many close friends, but he definitely counts you among them."

Drake mumbled something incoherent, then looked up into the amber eyes that he knew so well and held them for several moments.

The crime fighter knew he shouldn't be doing this, but as they looked at each other, he watched Corrine's expression go from confused, to thoughtful, back to confused, and then _finally _Drake swore he saw a flicker of recognition. But as soon as it was there, it was gone.

The song ended, and Drake released Corrine. He had pushed things too far, and now it was finally time to go.

"It was nice seeing you, Drake," Corrine said, sounding more familiar with him than she had just moments before. She probably didn't even realize it on a conscious level, but her voice was almost wistful as she added, "I'm glad you came."

Bowing politely but saying nothing else, Drake retreated to his table to collect Gosalyn and Launchpad.

"Come on, you two," he said to his family. "Time to move on."

**THE END**


End file.
